Windows - Httqm's Docs

You're trying to do something highly technical (requiring at least a Ph.D in quantum physics + a thesis from the MIT) : plug a second screen to your Windows 10 workstation and extend your desktop onto this monitor.

Plugging the screen is pretty straightforward, extending the desktop is the tricky part :

For non-french readers, the error message says (click to enlarge) :
No screen detected. If you can see nothing, check cable connections and make sure the screen is turned on.
(seriously ? )

I've read many threads and comments, with many creative ways of not-fixing-my-problem :

download a-great-utility-that-will-magically-fix-everything (looks like with Windows 10, the solution to any problem is to install some extra crap). Sorry, but I'll pass on this one.
updating video drivers. Well, the main screen works fine, the second screen displays an image too (a cloned desktop). The problem is just that Windows 10 is too stupid to extend its desktop on it. I'll keep this as a last resort.
see what the device manager says : (Windows key)-r | devmgmt.msc, then scroll down to the Monitors section. My external screen was detected as Generic Plug-and-Play Monitor, which doesn't help much, but, at least, it's detected . Disabling / removing / re-detecting it made no change.
... and others I can't remember.

It's as simple as hitting (Windows key)-p to choose a projection mode.

There are several methods depending of the Windows version :

for Windows 10 (graphical version)
for Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016. I'll use one of these below on a Windows 7 client.
Commands and methods differ whether they are for a SMB server or a SMB client.

Procedure for a Windows 7 client

start the shell (cmd.exe) with Administrator privileges (otherwise, you may not be allowed to change some system settings)

check whether SMB1 is enabled or not :

sc.exe qc lanmanworkstation

[SC] QueryServiceConfig réussite(s)

SERVICE_NAME: lanmanworkstation
	TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
	START_TYPE         : 2   AUTO_START
	ERROR_CONTROL      : 1   NORMAL
	BINARY_PATH_NAME   : C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService
	LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   : NetworkProvider
	TAG                : 0
	DISPLAY_NAME       : Station de travail
	DEPENDENCIES       : Bowser
	                   : MRxSmb10
	                   : MRxSmb20
	                   : NSI
	SERVICE_START_NAME : NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService

Disable SMB1 :
sc.exe config lanmanworkstation depend= bowser/mrxsmb20/nsi
```
[SC] ChangeServiceConfig réussite(s)
```
sc.exe config mrxsmb10 start= disabled
```
[SC] ChangeServiceConfig réussite(s)
```

check it with the same command :

[SC] QueryServiceConfig réussite(s)

SERVICE_NAME: lanmanworkstation
	TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
	START_TYPE         : 2   AUTO_START
	ERROR_CONTROL      : 1   NORMAL
	BINARY_PATH_NAME   : C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService
	LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   : NetworkProvider
	TAG                : 0
	DISPLAY_NAME       : Station de travail
	DEPENDENCIES       : bowser
	                   : mrxsmb20
	                   : nsi
	SERVICE_START_NAME : NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService

should you wish to re-enable it :
sc.exe config lanmanworkstation depend= bowser/mrxsmb10/mrxsmb20/nsi

sc.exe config mrxsmb10 start= auto
reboot so that changes take effect

let's assume the column containing duplicates is the F column
insert an empty column (the G column) next to the column to investigate for duplicates
in G1 (or G2 if column have headers), insert the formula =NB.SI($F$2:$F$120;F2)>1
- $F$2:$F$120 is the range of cells to search into
- F2 is the value to look for
- =NB.SI(range;value) counts the occurrences of value in range. Unique values occur just once, hence the >1 to highlight duplicates
drag'n'copy this formula until the bottom of the G column
lines containing duplicates in the F column show a true in the G column

Advanced formula : =SI(NB.SI($F$2:$F$120;F2)>1;"DOUBLON !!";"")

Not possible anymore to open Outlook, which outputs the error message : "Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook. Unable to open Outlook window. The set of directories could not be opened."

This is due to a corrupted .ost file. These files contain the "local copy" of the Outlook inbox.

Scan and repair the damaged .ost file with the scanost.exe utility. This was found in C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033 on my computer.

type 1 in an empty cell, then Rclick cell | copy
hold CTRL and select all cells where hyperlinks have to be removed
Rclick any of the selected cells (containing hyperlink to remove), then "collage spécial"
In the Opération area, select multiplication | OK

This question occurred while trying to configure / use an Android smartphone as a USB modem on a Windows 7 workstation, which is already connected to the Internet via its built-in wired network card.

The setup is fairly straightforward : plug the smartphone via USB on the PC, then on the phone side, enable network sharing. Windows should detect a new network card and install drivers.

At that time, some existing network connections _may_ miserably timeout. This is because the new interface has a lower network metric than the regular one. The new network card has become the preferred interface to the network (because of its lower metric), but since it's not connected to the LAN, links to local resources are broken.

Before plugging the phone :

route print


IPv4 Table de routage
===========================================================================
Itinéraires actifs :
Destination réseau	Masque réseau	Adr. passerelle	Adr. interface	Métrique
0.0.0.0			0.0.0.0		10.29.19.254	10.29.19.125	20

After plugging the phone :

ipconfig

Carte Ethernet Connexion au réseau local 2 :				this is my phone
	Suffixe DNS propre à la connexion. . . :
	Adresse IPv4. . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 192.168.42.41
	Masque de sous-réseau. . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
	Passerelle par défaut. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.42.129

Carte Ethernet Connexion au réseau local :				this is the regular LAN connection
	Suffixe DNS propre à la connexion. . . : acme.corp.com
	Adresse IPv4. . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 10.29.19.125
	Masque de sous-réseau. . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
	Passerelle par défaut. . . . . . . . . : 10.29.19.254

Then the routing table again :

route print


IPv4 Table de routage
===========================================================================
Itinéraires actifs :
Destination réseau	Masque réseau	Adr. passerelle	Adr. interface	Métrique
0.0.0.0			0.0.0.0		192.168.42.129	192.168.42.41	10		phone
0.0.0.0			0.0.0.0		10.29.19.254	10.29.19.125	20		regular LAN connection

At that point, the LAN connection must become the preferred interface anew. To do so, we can :
- either increase the metric value of the USB interface
- or decrease the metric value of the regular LAN interface
Altering the USB interface works fine, but these settings will be lost after disconnecting the phone, and the same problem will pop again the next time it is plugged in. So let's workaround this by setting the metric of the LAN interface to the lowest possible value : 1.
Open the network properties :
- Control Panel | Network and Internet | Network Connections
- or : | type connexions réseau in the search box | Afficher les connexions réseau
Select the LAN interface, right-click then Properties
Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) | Properties | Advanced.
Untick Automatic Metric and set the interface metric to 1.
OK | OK | ... until you close the Network Adapter properties.

Check :

route print


IPv4 Table de routage
===========================================================================
Destination réseau	Masque réseau	Adr. passerelle	Adr. interface	Métrique
0.0.0.0			0.0.0.0		10.29.19.254	10.29.19.125	1
0.0.0.0			0.0.0.0		192.168.42.129	192.168.42.41	10

OS	File
Windows XP, Windows 7	C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts it can be found in : %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\
Windows 2000	C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Windows 98	C:\Windows\hosts.sam

On Windows XP, Firefox may ignore the hosts file if it's configured to connect to Internet through a proxy (details). To workaround this, add your custom host name in the No proxy for... list.

Notes on ADS

The concept of ADS is to hide data into a container file.
ADS works only on NTFS volumes. ADS may survive a copy to another NTFS volume (either local or through LAN) but in any other case (different filesystem type, FTP, email, Zip, ...) the ADS is lost.
From my (short) experience, the type of the container file doesn't matter.
The stream name doesn't seem to matter as well.
There seem to be no limitation on the number of streams attached to a container file.

Examples

Store text : echo foo > anyFile.txt:streamName
Read text : more < anyFile.txt:streamName
Store image : type img.png > cic.dll:streamName
Read image : %SystemRoot%\system32\mspaint.exe cic.dll:streamName
Store executable : type calc.exe > img.png:anything.exe
Run executable : start .\img.png:anything.exe
- .\ and .exe are mandatory
- the task manager will display img.png:anything.exe as the task name
Store several streams :
1. echo foo > anyFile.txt:stream1
2. echo bar > anyFile.txt:stream2
3. echo baz > anyFile.txt:stream3

List environment variables :

In a shell, just type set

Print the value of a variable :

echo %temp%

Common variables :

Variable Name	Value	Details
SystemRoot	c:\windows

Open the Start Menu
Browse to the application name or find it with the Search box
Right-click the application name / icon, then select Run As Administrator
Enter Administrator's credentials
Enjoy !

.dll files are supposed to be found in C:\WINDOWS\system32

To register a new .dll :

regsvr32 my_new_dll_file.dll

To un-register an existing .dll :

regsvr32 /u existing_dll_file.dll

C:\ system root

WINDOWS

system32

drivers

etc

hosts

Documents and Settings

All Users

Menu Démarrer

Programmes

Démarrage Programs to launch when any user opens a session

userName

Application Data

Microsoft

Internet Explorer

Quick Launch Lists icons of favorites apps in the taskbar

Menu Démarrer

Programmes

Démarrage Programs to launch when userName opens a session

To open ...	Type : Windows key-R ...
Computer Management	`compmgmt.msc`
Disk Management	`diskmgmt.msc`
Services	`services.msc`

Start | Run | gpedit.msc (Group Policy)
Expand Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | System
Rclick Turn Off Autoplay | Properties
in the Settings tab, select Enabled

Windows - Notes on Microsoft's operating systems

When Windows 10 refuses to extend my desktop on an external screen, complaining No screen detected

Situation

Details

Solution

How to disable SMB1 on Windows clients ?

Procedure for a Windows 7 client

Finding duplicates in an Excel column

When Outlook complains : "the set of directories could not be opened..."

Situation

Details

Solution

Remove hyperlinks from Excel cells

How to tell Windows 7 to use a different default network card ?

Situation

Details

Solution

hosts file

Playing with NTFS's ADS

Notes on ADS

Examples

Environment variables

List environment variables :

Print the value of a variable :

Common variables :

How to run a command or .exe as another user on Windows ?

How to register a new .dll in Windows XP / 2003 ?

To register a new .dll :

To un-register an existing .dll :

Windows XP file tree

The Microsoft Management Console (MMC)

How to disable CD autorun (aka autoplay) ?